Posts tagged: tomato season

Make these wonderful tomatoes when large, ripe plum tomatoes are plentiful. It’s really not worth making in quantities of less than five pounds, because the tomatoes shrink to about half their weight when baked. They are excellent on pizzas (such as the Sicilian Pan Pizza here) and in pasta sauces. If you remove some of the tomatoes, be sure to keep the remainder covered with olive oil. When they are all used, strain the olive oil and reserve it in the refrigerator to use for pasta sauces, to spread on sliced Italian bread to bake for crostini, or to make vinaigrette dressings.

Yield: About 6 cups

5 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise

3 tablespoons kosher salt

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano (about 1/2 bunch)

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary (about 1/4 bunch)

1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme (about 1/2 bunch)

6 to 8 cloves garlic, (about 1/4 cup chopped)

Preheat the oven to 225°F.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on 2 large metal baking pans with their cut sides up and slowly roast for 4 hours. The tomatoes should be dried and wrinkly-looking, but still plump.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.